Distractions
by n3bu14
Summary: Kyoya offers to help Haruhi get over her fear of thunderstorms. Although, he may not be using the right tactic. Oneshot, sorry if there's OOC. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.


Haruhi Fujioka was cleaning up from the day's host club activities. Needless to say, it had been a very messy day. She was in the kitchen washing some dishes and glancing out the window every few seconds. The sky had been dark and cloudy all day and she was hoping to get home before it started storming. The weather man had promised some heavy thundershowers later in the day. _Well, it's later in the day, and I'm still not home_, Haruhi thought apprehensively; _just a few more dishes_.

Finally all the dishes were cleaned, dried, and put away in their respective areas of the cupboard. Haruhi walked out of the kitchen to see Kyoya Otori just closing his laptop.

"You're still here, senpai?" Haruhi asked, going over to her bag to pack up.

"Yes, I'm afraid there were lots of… accounting problems," Kyoya replied, reaching for his small black notebook and tucking it in with his other books. _'Accounting' meaning 'Tamaki has gone overboard with the eccentrics,_' Kyoya thought. "Would you like a ride home, Haruhi? It looks like it's going to start raining any moment."

"No, thank you, senpai," Haruhi replied with a nervous peek out the window. "I think I can make it home before it starts raining." And with that, she walked out the doors to get home as fast as possible.

Kyoya had finished packing up just as the first strike of lightning flew through the air a few minutes later, followed by a growl of thunder. A second later, the rain came pouring down in great sheets of water. _I'd better see if I can catch up to Haruhi before she walks home_. Kyoya hurried through the school. He found Haruhi standing in front of the huge double doors that were the building's main entrance.

"Would you like a ride now?" Kyoya asked.

"Um… yes, please," Haruhi answered. Kyoya opened one of the giant doors and extended his arm, signaling for Haruhi to walk out first. She just stood there looking at all the rain, her eyes wide with shock and unease. She flinched when the lightning and thunder crashed down. _Get a hold of yourself, Haruhi, _she thought. _Don't let Kyoya-senpai know,_ _he'll only make fun of you for it_. But the flinch wasn't missed by Kyoya.

"Are you going to walk out, or would you prefer me going first?" He asked with a smirk.

"Right; um, yeah I'm going," Haruhi said, walking forward hurriedly. Kyoya followed behind her and opened the door when they approached the limo. The two slipped in and closed the door before another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder arrived. Kyoya looked over at Haruhi and saw her knuckles clenched white at her sides. Her lips were pursed and her eyes screwed shut.

"Haruhi, don't tell me you're afraid of thunderstorms," Kyoya said, with a voice of disinterest.

"Oh, please, senpai," Haruhi's eyes suddenly shot open and glared at him. Her voice was angry. "Like you didn't already know. I swear you know more about me than I do; keeping tabs on just about everything that's ever happened in my life."

"I assure you, I didn't know about this," Kyoya answered calmly. True, Tamaki had told him that he'd figured out Haruhi's fear, but he hadn't said what the fear actually was. "As far as the club is concerned, the only ones who know about this… _fear_ are Tamaki and I."

"Why are you saying 'fear' like that, senpai? It's not a disease," Haruhi said, looking back out the window so she wouldn't have to look at Kyoya.

"I'm saying it like that because it's completely irrational. Thunder is just a noise, Haruhi. You shouldn't be afraid of it," Kyoya said heartlessly.

"Oh, alright then, _Mr. Otori_. I'll just get over this_ irrational_ fear. On three, I'll snap my fingers and the fear will be gone. Because, as the great Kyoya Otori said, it's just a _noise_," Haruhi said acidly. "Maybe it is irrational, Kyoya-senpai, but that doesn't mean I can't be scared of it. You'll just have to deal with that fact until I figure how to get over the fear of a noise," she added in a softer tone.

"Perhaps I can help," Kyoya said formally.

"How?"

"Well, having made observations on many people, it appears that the reason they're so afraid of something is because they focus so much on it."

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.

"The reason someone's fear is so great is because they focus on it. If they didn't focus, then they would eventually get over their fear," Kyoya explained. "All they need is a distraction."

"Okay, well thanks for that super enlightening explanation," Haruhi said sarcastically. "I'll just learn how to basket weave and then make dozens of baskets every time a storm comes around."

"I'm not saying that isn't a good idea, but perhaps something a little less… _extreme_. At any rate, I'm glad to know you're getting the point," Kyoya said, completely missing Haruhi's sarcasm.

"Forget it," Haruhi grumbled. "What makes you think you can help me?" she then asked, turning back to formalities for the sake of staying sane.

"I was merely suggesting that I could help you come up with a suitable distraction."

"If I agree, does that mean you're coming into my house?" Haruhi asked.

"I'm afraid so," Kyoya replied.

"Fine; you can help me find a 'suitable distraction,' senpai," Haruhi muttered.

* * *

The two teens soon arrived at Haruhi's small apartment. After a short car ride that mainly consisted of Haruhi whimpering as quietly as possible at every blast of thunder, Kyoya was glad to be out of that environment, even if it meant standing out in the rain while Haruhi fiddled with the key and lock on the door. They walked into the kitchen where a note was placed on the table. Haruhi quickly read it before sighing.

"My dad's gonna be home late tonight," Haruhi said. "In fact, I'll probably be surprised if he even does come home." She added a bit sadly. Then Kyoya saw her stiffen when the thunder rang out.

"Well then, shall we get started?"

* * *

Kyoya's first theory on how to get Haruhi distracted enough to forget about the storm was cooking.

"Are you sure it's not just because you're hungry, senpai?" Haruhi teased before screwing up her eyes when a shock of lightning struck, preparing for the thunder.

"Well, partially," Kyoya admitted. "But in my defense, it is almost six o'clock. Besides, cooking is even considered a type of therapy for some people. I don't see why it couldn't help you get over your fear of thunder," he then reasoned.

Despite his logic, Haruhi was not distracted through cooking. She managed to burn their dinner; every time a clap of thunder sounded, she would freeze up and forget what she was doing. By the time she'd aired out the apartment of all the fumes and Kyoya had called for takeout, Haruhi's face was streaked with tears and smoke. She sat down on a chair, silently crying and shaking and begging for the night to be over. Kyoya walked over to and offered her a damp towel.

"What's this for?" she asked faintly.

"No offense, Haruhi, but you look like someone rolled over you with a flaming chariot from Hell," Kyoya said, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. "Wipe off your face; we'll figure out some other distraction."

* * *

"Perhaps if we play some sort of game," Kyoya thought aloud.

"What do you mean, 'game'?" Haruhi asked him, crestfallen from their last failure.

"Don't commoners have board games, or whatever they're called? And even people like me have played a round of cards before," Kyoya said.

"Yeah, we have Monopoly and a set of cards," Haruhi walked over to a small closet and pulled out a large box and a mound of cards. She quietly and quickly set up the board game before the thunder shook. They'd managed to get through 3/4ths of the game before Haruhi, being the nervous wreck she was at the moment, accidentally flipped over the entire board.

"Maybe we should try cards," Kyoya suggested calmly before bending over to help Haruhi pick up all the game pieces. To be honest, he was a little disappointed that they weren't able to finish the game; Kyoya had been about to win. He found it amusing that a simple board game could actually simulate what real business was like.

"Kyoya, are you really in the mood 52-card-pick-up?" Haruhi asked dejectedly.

"What's 52-card-pick-up?" Kyoya asked interestedly.

"It's where… never mind. It's just a simple game that requires no thought at all," Haruhi said, jumping as the thunder sounded again.

"No thought at all…" he trailed off, thinking of another way to get Haruhi distracted.

* * *

Haruhi was settled at one end of the couch while Kyoya was at the other end. There was a giant bowl of popcorn between them, and the lights were turned down. The opening title for Midnight Sun was showing on the TV screen.

"Kyoya-senpai, how will watching a depressing romance movie help my fear of thunderstorms?"

"Watching a movie is a mindless thing. I thought that if you weren't thinking too hard about what you were doing, like in cooking and Monopoly, then you wouldn't think too hard about the storm," Kyoya said triumphantly. _If this doesn't work, I don't know what will… _he thought.

Kyoya's theory proved wrong within the first half of the movie. Each time the thunder sounded, Haruhi would hide a little bit more behind the blankets until she had completely buried herself in more than one blanket. Kyoya paused the movie, set the bowl of popcorn on the floor, and scooted closer to Haruhi's shaking form.

"Haruhi, come out from under there; you look ridiculous," Kyoya said. A bulge that Kyoya assumed was Haruhi's head shook back in forth.

"If you weren't here, then I wouldn't have to worry about that, now would I?"

Kyoya sighed and yanked one blanket after another off of Haruhi until he could see her. Her face was, once again, streaked with tears.

"Since when did you worry about what you looked like?" he asked, hoping to draw her attention away from the storm.

"I don't. I was just saying that if you weren't here to see me looking ridiculous, then I wouldn't look ridiculous," Haruhi said. "Sort of the 'if a tree fell in a forest and no one was around to hear it, would it make a sound?' type of deal."

"You make a valid point," was all Kyoya had to say. Another jolt of thunder burst and Haruhi dived back under the blanket.

Inching a little bit closer, Kyoya pulled the blanket away from her. He wrapped one arm around her shaking shoulders. The shaking stopped almost immediately and was replaced with a nonmoving, stiff format. _I wonder if I've been using the wrong kind of distraction…_ Kyoya pondered. He leaned down and experimentally kissed Haruhi. Kyoya pulled back, looking in her eyes for some sort of sign that she was… well, distracted. The tears had stopped falling and her shaking had ceased.

"Kyoya-senpai?"

"Shh… wait for it…" Kyoya waited patiently for the next bolt of lightning before chastely kissing Haruhi just in time for the next crash of thunder. He was expecting Haruhi to freak out and pull away, or, even worse, smack her face against his (that is, in a nonpleasant way); she didn't though. After a few more seconds of kissing her, Kyoya broke the kiss. "Haruhi, I think I've found the proper distraction for you." He said smugly.

"You know, senpai? I think you have," Haruhi said before bringing her lips to his again.

* * *

It was about an hour later when the two realized that the storm had ended.

"I guess that's my cue to depart," Kyoya said, standing up.

"Like hell, it is, senpai. I'm still having post-thunderstorm trauma. Get your tight-ass little butt back down here," Haruhi said. Kyoya smiled, sat back down, and pulled Haruhi's face close to his and giving her a distraction of a life time.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that the ending's lame, but it's late at night/early in the morning and my brain is just dead.**


End file.
